


blue fires burn

by kahvikummitus



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, see now that i type all those out it looks Super Tropey whoops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-27
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2019-04-28 13:16:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14450052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kahvikummitus/pseuds/kahvikummitus
Summary: A fairly classic Newt/Hermann university/fake dating AU, you've all read fanfics before, you know what happens in these fics.





	blue fires burn

**Author's Note:**

  * For [spektri](https://archiveofourown.org/users/spektri/gifts).



> Title from "Blue Fires" by case/lang/veirs - although unlike the song, this fic is not about unrequited love, we have a happy ending here lads.
> 
> I'm not like, Entirely happy with this fic BUT it tested well with a sample audience and I think we all need a bit of cheesy fake dating in our lives every now and then, so here goes! 
> 
> (I'm also kahvikummitus on tumblr if you want to find me cool thanks)

The coffeeshop on campus is dressed in pink all week, and Newt wistfully reads the signs suggesting students book tables for Valentine’s Day at the end of the week. It’s not that he likes Valentine’s Day as a concept anyway (he has opinions re: the mass marketing of it all), but if February 14th doesn’t make a single person feel like a failure then nothing will.

His attention is grabbed by a different sign now, though, as a poster on the wall advertises a Valentine’s Week special on hot drinks for couples. It’s not quite a 2-for-1 deal but it’s very close, and Newt curses not dragging someone here with him to take advantage of it. The guy in front of him in the queue has turned his head to read the same poster, and Newt gets an idea.

“Hey,” he says, tapping the guy’s shoulder, and gets his attention. “You wanna go splitsies on the deal? I’ll pay you back, or you pay me back, whichever.”

The man frowns, but replies with a “sure, why not” so Newt counts out coins that should cover his half as they wait for their turn, pretending to know each other. It’s a pure business transaction, but once they get their drinks and part ways outside the coffeeshop, something about the man’s smile makes Newt’s heart skip a beat.

“I’m Newt, by the way,” he says, remembering to introduce himself.

“I’m Hermann,” the man says, and doesn’t shake Newt’s hand because he has none free (between his coffee and his cane, his hands are all taken up).

“Well, it was a pleasure to be your boyfriend for those two minutes! Enjoy your coffee, Hermann,” Newt says, having checked his watch and now in a hurry to get back to the Life Sciences building.  
\--

The next time they see each other, Newt’s at the bus stop, waiting to get home after a very long day of demonstrating an undergraduate lab. Unfortunately, he has to wait for the bus with the students he just spent the day with, some of whom clearly carry a bit of a torch for him. He spots Hermann and immediately waves him over with a “hey babe!”, and a confused Hermann plays along.

“Save me from these undergrads,” Newt whispers as he reaches up to hug Hermann.

It takes some hand-holding and Newt staying on the bus for three extra stops with Hermann, but all in all it’s successful. The undergrads let them be, and Newt and Hermann get to introduce themselves properly this time and exchange numbers. They have a pretty good conversation, and when they say goodbye at Hermann’s bus stop, Newt says he can call anytime he needs a fake boyfriend.

\--

They begin talking after that, texting each other occasionally. Newt makes a habit of calling Hermann “babe”, and Hermann doesn’t even try to pretend it bothers him. It becomes routine to use the other as an excuse to get out of things, so much so that Newt occasionally has to remind himself that Hermann isn’t _actually_ his boyfriend. They create a fake history, just in case someone asks.

\--

The next time they actually see each other, it’s to pretend to be dating again. The physics department are doing an event, and Hermann offers to sneak him in for the free wine because Newt’s had a bad day.

“I would date you for real if you did that,” Newt says, and Hermann just texts back with a time and location.

And so Hermann spends the evening with Newt, introducing him to the physics department. Newt, who came for the wine, finds himself trying to impress all of Hermann’s buddies instead. He’s pretty sure he’s never been so charming in his life as when he talks about his own research with Hermann’s advisor.

“I can’t believe you just told your entire department you’re dating me, just to get me free wine. I don’t think anyone I’ve actually dated would have done something that big for me,” Newt says when they’re waiting for the bus afterwards.

“It was partially selfish,” Hermann admits. “I had to reject someone’s advances recently, and I used you as an excuse. I thought it might help to have you around.”

“Knew it was too good to be true.”

Newt, again, rides the bus all the way to Hermann’s bus stop, and walks back from there. He figures he needs the walk to clear his head a little. Because he keeps wondering what it would be like to kiss that smile of Hermann’s.

\--

The first time they really spend time together outside of their pretend relationship is in June. Newt invites Hermann over for a movie night - his flatmates all know about the fake dating, and they’re a bit curious to meet this fake boyfriend that Newt won’t admit he’s in love with.

It’s a fun evening. Newt attempts to impress Hermann with his popcorn-catching skills, and they annoy everyone else with their commentary on the scientific inaccuracies. And afterwards, Newt walks Hermann home. There’s a mild chill to the air, and the sun has just set, and Hermann refuses to take a shortcut through the dark common.

“It was nice hanging out without having to worry if we had the story straight,” Newt says when they reach the gate of Hermann’s house.

“It was. And thank you for walking me home.” Hermann gives Newt another one of those precious smiles, and it feels like a _moment_. Like it’s a movie, and this is where Newt’s supposed to reach up and kiss Hermann.

“Had to make sure you didn’t get lost or whatever,” he says, and gives Hermann a hug that he hopes is affectionate enough in case this is a moment, but not too affectionate in case it isn’t one. The gate creaks as Hermann walks through it, and he turns to give Newt a small wave before going into the house.

On the way back, Newt cuts through the common specifically because Hermann wouldn’t. Hermann, meanwhile, makes himself a cup of tea and gives himself a stern talking-to re: appropriate thoughts to have about one’s friends. (Feelings are fine - attraction, affection, disappointment at not getting a good-night kiss at the door are all okay. Thoughts, like having gotten his own hopes up about a potential good-night kiss, are forbidden.)

\--

It’s August, and the summer heat has them outside for lunch. They’re sitting on stone steps, Newt with ice cream on his face and Hermann examining the tattoos revealed by Newt’s shorts.

“Hey, it’s our six-month anniversary today,” Newt says, suddenly realising. “Six whole months since you first agreed to be my boyfriend.”

“And no flowers? No anniversary dinner?”

“Jeez, Hermann, you’re a high-maintenance boyfriend. Are pretend flowers enough for a pretend boyfriend?”

“I suppose they’ll have to do.”

That evening, though, Newt turns up at Hermann’s door with flowers.

“Put these in a vase and let’s go eat food.”

“You actually got me flowers?” Hermann holds the bouquet carefully, in awe, and Newt walks in past him to try to find something to put the flowers in. He finds a tall glass in a kitchen cabinet, and decides it’ll have to do. Hermann’s still staring at the flowers when Newt returns with the glass of water.

“You okay there, Hermann?”

“You got me flowers.”

“Yeah yeah, they’re anniversary flowers. And now we’re gonna go have our anniversary dinner, my treat. You want fake Asian or fake Italian?”

Hermann puts the flowers down in the glass, and follows Newt out of the house to see what the chain restaurants on the high street have to offer.

It’s a fun evening, all in all. They order wine and split a dessert, because it’s what you’re supposed to do on a date according to Newt, and Hermann rolls his eyes at everything. Afterwards, Newt walks Hermann home, and Hermann invites him in for a cup of tea. It’s what you’re supposed to do on a date.

The sunset is painting the kitchen orange as Hermann fills up the kettle with water, and Newt inspects the little pots of herbs on the windowsill.

“Hey, Hermann?”

“Mm?”

“I was thinking, you know how everyone already thinks we’re dating anyway? So what if we tried dating for real? And not just pretending for discounts or whatever.” He tries to sound as casual as possible, light and breezy and whatnot.

A box of Yorkshire tea hits the kitchen floor as Hermann turns back from the cupboard.

“You want to date me?”

“Yeah. Hey, you’d be lucky to have me. I’m a great kisser.”

“I’d rather you didn’t joke about things like that.” In the space of two seconds, Hermann has turned to ice.

“Joke about what? I’m not--”

“About wanting to date me.”

The kettle clicks itself off, and Newt picks up the tea from the floor.

“I should probably go.”

\--

When Hermann wakes up the next morning, there’s a text from Newt.

_anyway the next time u reject someone maybe be a little nicer abt it_

Hermann has no memory of rejecting anyone recently, and he immediately calls Newt to ask what the hell he’s going on about now.

“Thanks for waking me up, asshole,” is the greeting that Newt opens with.

“What did I do? If anything, you’re the a--”

“Look, when someone asks you out, you can just say ‘no thanks’.”

Hermann wanders out into the living room, where the flowers are. He realises he forgot to cut the stems yesterday.

“Who have I rejected recently?”

“Uhh, me? Literally last night? I asked you out and you got like, angry with me, remember?”

“Vividly. What I don’t understand is why you’re angry.”

“What? Why are you angry?”

“Because, as stupid as it is, I have actual feelings for you, and you just treat the whole thing like a joke.” It’s a horribly exhausting thing to admit first thing in the morning, but Hermann’s begun to sense there’s a misunderstanding here somewhere, and he just wants to sort it out.

“Oh.” Over the line, Hermann hears the clinking of a mug, and the running of water. “I wasn’t making a joke,” Newt says. “I thought _I_ was the one with feelings.”

They meet up on the common, the halfway point between their houses, in the early Wednesday morning. Newt’s barely dressed, and he’s carrying a coffee mug which he sets down on the grass when he spots Hermann.

“So when you say feelings, you mean like, romantic feelings?”

Hermann nods.

“Cool, just wanted to confirm that. Me too. I mean, I have romantic feelings. For you.”

After a few minutes of awkward affirmations and analysis of the previous night’s conversation, Hermann has to head back, to get ready for a meeting he has first thing. Newt figures he, too, should return home and actually finish getting dressed. The morning joggers and dog-walkers have thrown some curious glances at his pyjama bottoms.

Still, there’s one more thing to do before they part. Newt reaches up to kiss Hermann. It’s a terrible kiss, because they’re both too busy smiling, and Newt accidentally kicks over his coffee mug, but it’s a promise of better kisses to come.

When Hermann’s on the bus on his way to campus, he gets another text from Newt.

_hey so we’re gonna pretend we got together yesterday right on our Super Romantic date and not this morning in a field_

_Agreed_ , Hermann replies.

**Author's Note:**

> God how do you even write text-speak, I'm so out of touch with my own generation, jeez.
> 
> Anyway thanks for reading! :)


End file.
